The present invention relates in general to trunk locks, and more particularly to key operated trunk locks having facility for manual release of the lock from latched condition when the trunk secured by the lock is accessible to operation by potential customers on a sales floor.
Heretofore, it has been customary for trunk locks to close automatically. In trunk locks of such construction, the bolts or plungers on the hasp of the trunk lock are customarily spring loaded and beveled so that the locking mechanism, when mated with its latching or keeper plate, locks itself by engaging the plungers or bolts in corresponding cavities or keeper recesses in the latching plate. In such an arrangement, a key must be used to open the lock. This construction of trunk locks has been inconvenient to both the retailer and to the consumer, due to the fact that a key is required each time it is desired to open the trunk for inspection. In conventional trunks of this construction, the key is frequently stored inside the trunk, necessitating the production of duplicate keys or forcing of the lock to gain access to the trunk. When trunks having such conventional trunk lock construction are stored or displayed in retail establishments, it has been the custom in many cases for the keys to be attached by a string to the trunk handle, and a significant proportion become detached and lost from their associated trunks through accident or pilfering. Also, at the retail level, the keys attached by string to the trunk handle are frequently placed on the inside of the trunk through careless handling, thus producing a lock out.
Heretofore, a trunk lock construction has been disclosed in earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,935, granted to the assignee of the present application, wherein the lock may be opened from an automatic latched condition without the use of the key, by means of a manually operated, "C" shaped loop or bail pivotally coupled to a portion of the lock, so that the operating bail may be pivoted outwardly and rotated by the hand of the user about the rotary axis of the key cylinder portion of the lock to move the lock to unlocked condition.
An object of the present invention is the provision of a novel trunk lock construction having a pair of spring loaded beveled bolts or plungers on a hinged hasp which automatically latch with a cooperating latching plate, and wherein a throw away key is captured in the rotatable cylinder portion of the trunk lock by a bendable tab on the inner end of the key, permitting the lock to be manually opened on a sales floor or similar situation, and wherein the customer can bend the tab on the innermost end of the key to a position permitting withdrawal of the key so that the regular key which is given to the customer at the time of purchase can be used thereafter to operate the trunk lock.
Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention.